Thursday, June 10, 2010

Can "ewe" believe I did a lamb post title with no baaaaaaaaaad puns? Hey, I was afraid of getting lambasted! Okay, I'm done (he said, sheepishly).

I was recently contacted by the American Lamb Board, who are promoting their third annual “Get Your Grill On” video competition, to see if I would be interested in trying some lamb.

Never one to turn down free meat, I said sure! When the package arrived I was very happy to see I was the proud owner of one pound of all-natural, all-American, ground lamb.Deciding what to make was easy. I love lamb burgers, and I've been daydreaming recently about a lamb burger based on the famous Greek casserole, Moussaka. For those of you that don't know, Moussaka is a stunning blend of spiced ground lamb, tomato, and eggplant, topped with a creamy, cheesy white sauce.

I decided to integrate the eggplant right into the burger itself, instead of topping the burger with cooked slices. I really liked the result, but I think most of you will enjoy it better if you use less eggplant than I did.I started with about 3-4 cups of raw diced eggplant, and while the burgers held together nicely, the texture was very soft. I think 2 cups is probably just about perfect. As always, I encourage skepticism and experimentation.

The sauce seemed like a natural to use as a cheesy spread on the toasted buns, and I loved how the minted tomatoes pulled everything together. By the way, I don't always feel the need to put greens on a burger, and here it seemed like it would just get in the way. Besides, there's no lettuce in Moussaka. I really hope you give these great lamb burgers a try. Enjoy!

Those burgers look really great, Chef John! BTW, in Greece moussaka is called moussakas (μουσακάς, pronounced moussakAAS, heavily stressed on the last syllable), while around the world it is called moussaka (pronounced moussAAka, stressed on the second syllable). It is often thought to be Greece's national dish as it is a big favourite with tourists, but not so! Greeks see white bean soup (fasolada/faσολάδα) as their national dish, usually eaten in winter.

Lincoln, I don't want to go John Wilkes Booth on your idea, but these flavors are more for lamb than beef and pork (ha! a little assassination humor). Also, if your burgers fall apart on the grill, use a pan!

I totally did not think about the cinnamon and cumin clashing with the flavours of the beef. While I've tasted it done well in certain Indian beef curries, I don't think they'd go as well on a pan fried meat, good point there chef!

I am using a pan! That's what sucks! I have a feeling I'm getting impatient and flipping them too soon before they get a good sear at the bottom and then little chunks just fall off. Patient is not one of my better virtues.

I just made this for dinner and it turned out awesome! Added a dash of chilli powder with the other seasonings which I highly recommend, and also really piled on the cheese sauce which tied it all together... Thanks heaps again for a great recipe!

Hi Chef,I made this tonight. I think I either used too much eggplant, or the pieces were too big. In a bit of a rush. Anyway, it was taking forever for them to cook so I broke them up and we had sloppy moussaka joes on the roll with the Parmesan spread. Oh my god. It was absolutely delicious. Big lamb fans here. Would you believe we even had one tomato left from our garden? (SF Bay Area) and we used it on the sloppy joes. Heaven. Thanks!

Great recipe! I was afraid the lamb would be too overpowering so I added more eggplant mixture than lamb. It was kind of a loose burger but very tender. I also added small cubed potatoes to the eggplant mixture which I thought worked out to be a great addition. It came out delicious and everyone loved it!!

Hey chef it is my first comment here should it get posted if course but sure is not my first recipe of yours to try. I enjoyed quite many ones already. With a little bit of change cause I just can't help it not to follow a recipe to the litter. The difference with this one was I felt scared as u was cooking that it won't taste or cook well. And I must say that only believing in your recipe made me go thro with the cooking and it came just perfect. Next time I will cook the eggplants a bit longer tho. But the spice mix is just awesome and it really work. I must say I added a bit if crushed chili flakes for a bit of a kick. Thank you chef. And by the way mousakka is not at all Greek or even Turkish they actually took after the Arabs so it's kinda my heritage and you treated with respect so thank you.

Great Burger! Made these tonight and, as usual, excellent recipe- full of flavor- great blend of spices! Used fresh mint from my herb garden, compliments of Chef John's herb planting post, and served on a brioche bun. Truly one of THE BEST burgers I've ever had, truly! This is a great addition to my list of recipes and this will be a regular in my kitchen. I've made quite a few of Chef John's recipes now and I'm really starting to rely on them more and more each week because they're always so good. Thanks, Chef John!